Frequently Asked Questions
How far out are you currently booking for projects?
Due to the nature of our seasonal industry and the demand for landscape services in the Hudson and River Falls area, it is customary to have a “booked-out-time” for construction commencement. We do our best to schedule projects accordingly to anticipated length of projects and even account for a number of rain delays throughout the season. It is always best to contact our Sales Staff to schedule a consultation with a Project Manager as early in the season as possible, or even over winter, to ensure you make it on the schedule and meet your deadline expectations. All projects are scheduled on a first-come, first-serve basis. Depending on the time of the year your project is sold, it is reasonable to expect a 4 – 8 week lead time for construction.
How long will it take to have a design and estimate drafted?
This is very much dependent on the time of the year you are requesting a design and/or estimate. Due to the inundation of demand during the spring and early summer months, designs and estimates may take awhile to be put together. If a design is required, you should expect to wait 3-4 weeks depending on the intensity of the design requested. Your Boulder Hills Project Manager appreciates your patience so very much!! Late summer and fall, designs and estimates can be produced and presented with greater expediency, but please still allow 1-2 weeks depending on the scope of your project. The best time to get the ball rolling on your project is going to be fall and winter for the following season. This will allow ample time for your landscape designer to draft a design and your Project Manager to visit with you about your project, getting everything finalized and on the schedule for the coming season!
How will my estimate look? Will it be mailed?
You will be impressed with the level of detail and thoroughness put into your Boulder Hills Landscaping project estimate. Your estimate will be line item and detail exactly what you should expect with your installation, including all quantities and cost per unit. You will know exactly what you are paying for!! And when your job is done, your Project Manager will measure up and confirm quantity accuracy of your job versus the quote and if less quantity was used than anticipated, that savings will be passed back to you! You will only pay for what you get!!
Your Project Manager will discuss with you how your estimate will be presented. More often than not, estimates are presented in person. Some estimates are mailed though. Please feel free to voice your preference of delivery with your Project Manager.
Should I do anything prior to construction commencement?
Prior to construction of your landscape project in the Hudson and River Falls area, your Project Manager will perform a pre-construction walk-through with you to discuss all aspects of construction and what to expect throughout construction. It is always very helpful to our Landscape Installation teams, if you have prepared
your site by removing any objects, or obstacles, that are located in the construction zone or may impede or interfere with access to the construction zone. Generally, demolition and site prep is charged at an hourly rate; so any preparation you do to ensure the efficiency of this step in construction, will aid in staying within cost and may even lower your final bill!
How long will construction take once the project has begun?
The time length for construction is entirely dependent on the scope of your project and the cooperation of good ‘ol Mother Nature. Due to the prep work and imperativeness of proper base material installation, hardscape projects will take longer than softscape installations. Inclement weather will also play a factor in the completion of your project. Proper installation to ensure the integrity of all your installations is widely dependent on suitable site conditions. In example, base materials need to be dry for adequate compaction to ensure your patio or retaining wall does not settle over time. You can be certain that your Boulder Hills Landscaping Project Installation team will work effectively and with the industries best tools and equipment to ensure your project is handled with care, integrity and efficiency!
Can I help with the work?
Absolutely! Whether you would like to get some of the work done prior to your Boulder Hills Install team arriving or even help during construction, you are more than welcome to get your hands dirty! In some cases, assisting with the process may save you some money even! For example, some services will be estimated on an hourly basis and once completed you will be billed only for the actual time. If you have helped to shorten the estimated time, then your invoice will be less then estimated!
Will you use sub-contractors on my project?
Nearly 100% of all aspects of your landscape project will be completed by Boulder Hills employees. There are instances however, to meet state requirements, where we may need to bring in a licensed electrician or licensed plumber to assist with your installation. For such cases, we have developed relationships with local, licensed and insured, companies to ensure that you are as protected with their work as you are with our work!
Onsite, from start to finish of your project, you will have a Certified Lead Supervisor directing your Boulder Hills Landscaping Professional Installation Team. There will be daily site visits, from your Project Manager, to make certain that construction is going as planned and to address any concerns by staff or discuss the progress of your project with you. You will also have a direct line contact with your Project Manager, whom will be accessible to you any hour of the day or evening.
What if someone gets hurt on my property or my property is damaged, during construction?
Boulder Hills takes the time to properly train team members with how to commonly practice the best safety measure while producing efficiently during construction. Secondly, to ensure safe practices, there will at all times be a Lead Supervisor on your site, overseeing construction, the safety of the team and the well being and respect of your property! Through our emphasis on team and customers property safety, to date, we proudly have a perfect (zero injury) claim rating.
In the event there was an injury, or property damage, during construction, on your site, you as a property owner would be totally and completely protected and covered by our commercial insurance, workmans compensation and general liability policies. Not only do we make sure that our team members work safe and are protected, but we guarantee you are protected as well! Proof of this protection is available upon request.
Which is better; poured concrete or pavers?
Due to our geographical location which produces annual freeze and thaw cycles, there is really no comparison when it comes to the fragility of poured concrete versus the integrity of an interlocking paver system.
Over the decades, the poured concrete industry has attempted to minimize the consequence of freeze/thaw to poured concrete surfaces by adding rebar and pouring in smaller sections leaving separation between larger areas of poured concrete. These methods however are only attempts to minimize and contain the inevitable damage that will occur to a poured concrete surface over time as it goes through the freeze/thaw cycle. It will still crack, it will still crumble. The rebar is meant to hold the crumbling pieces together and the smaller (separated) sections (poured squares) are meant to contain a crack to that section so that it does not continue across the entire surface. But if one section cracks, so will another; just in a different spot.
Repairing poured concrete once it has cracked and crumbled is not easy to do. Typically, it will require replacing entire sections. This is not only costly, but if the original section cracked, so will the replacement.
An Interlocking Paver System on the other hand, when professionally installed by certified installers with the proper materials and adequate compaction equipment, will not settle and will not crack or crumble! It cannot be emphasized enough however the imperativeness of utilizing the proper materials and appropriate size compaction equipment to ensure that the base materials are properly installed.
Professionally installed paver systems will flex with the freeze/thaw cycles, but not so much that it will ever be noticeable! For this reason, you will not have settling, you will not have cracking. You will have a superior system that will last for lifetimes!
In the event there was surface damage, maybe from a heavy object falling on the surface, which damaged a paver; unlock the terrible expense of replacing entire sections of poured concrete, it is a very simple and inexpensive fix to extract the paver and put in another!
From the functionality, to the integrity, to the versatility and aesthetic value, paver systems in every way are superior to poured concrete.
How much should I expect to spend on a patio?
As with all hardscaping projects, paver patios/retaining walls in Hudson and River Falls, the cost of your project is going to be determined by a multiple of variables. The overall size of your patio, the style of paver used, the shape of your patio, access to construction site are all variables to be considered when pricing your new Boulder Hills Landscaping patio.
Cost comparison to other outdoor living space areas, such as poured concrete surfaces or decking surfaces would be competitive. Because of the systems of efficiency and professional installation equipment and procedures Boulder Hills incorporates into installing patios, we are generally able to be very competitive in cost with poured concrete, an inferior product. Decking systems are almost always more expensive, by the square foot finished product, compared to paver system patios.
It is best to remember, when choosing which system you would like to add to increase your living space, the practicality of the system; how will you like to use it? How much maintenance will there be? How will it uphold over time?
Paver system patios increase the value of your home, enrich your life through the enjoyment you get from using it, require little to no maintenance and hands-down outlast any comparable product making it the superior choice for your outdoor living space! It is an investment; you should expect to spend however much you are willing to invest to increase the value of your home and enrich the life of you and your family, through your new Boulder Hills Landscaping outdoor living space.
